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Makes / Nissan / Altima / Altima (5th gen) / 2015

Nissan4 independent sources

2015 · Sedan

2015 Nissan Altima Problems, recalls and specs

Two engines and one transmission: the QR25DE 2.5-litre four at 182 hp and 180 lb-ft, the VQ35DE V6 at 270 hp and 251 lb-ft, both through the Xtronic CVT. California PZEV cars are rated slightly lower, at 179 hp and 177 lb-ft, on the same badge. The recall list is the longest in this batch at ten campaigns, and three of them are the same hood latch, revisited in 2015, 2016 and 2020.

Photo coming
Power182–270 hpTorque180–251 lb-ftEPA comb.26–31 mpg

Against 2014

What changed for 2015

  • Nissan says all 3.5-litre V6 cars gained one mpg on the highway and combined ratings for 2015, attributing it to reduced internal friction, exhaust variable camshaft timing, a revised shift logic and lower friction in the Xtronic. The highway figure EPA lists for the V6 today is one below the one in that release, which is why the engine table above and Nissan's announcement do not read the same.
  • 3.5 SV and 3.5 SL grades added NissanConnect with Navigation, Blind Spot Warning, Moving Object Detection and Lane Departure Warning as standard.
  • An 8-way power driver's seat with 2-way power lumbar support was added to the 2.5 SV and 3.5 SV.
  • Beige-interior cars moved to black carpeting and lower seat side trim.

Before you hand over money

Check before you buy

Checks by mechanism
  1. Check the title status first - clean, salvage, rebuilt, flood or lemon buyback.
  2. Open and close the bonnet, and look up the hood latch recalls by VIN. Three separate campaigns cover this car - 15V-116, 16V-029 and 20V-315 - and the last of them is about the secondary latch corroding over time, which is a condition that keeps developing rather than one fixed at build.
  3. Exterior lighting is the largest complaint category NHTSA holds for this model year, at 261 of 945 reports. Check every lamp, including with the headlights on main beam, in daylight and after dark.
  4. Establish where the car stands against Nissan's CVT warranty extension. The 2013-2016 Altima bulletin takes the transmission from 60 months and 60,000 miles to 84 months and 84,000 miles - and it is a different bulletin from the one covering 2017-2018 cars, so the year matters.

Two engines offered that year

Engines

Which engine a listing has is the first thing that changes the answer.

Engines offered in the 2015 Nissan Altima
EnginePowerTorqueTransmissionDriveEPA
QR25DE2.5L I4182 hp180 lb-ftXtronic CVTFWD27 city / 37 hwy / 31 combinedFWD
VQ35DE3.5L V6270 hp251 lb-ftXtronic CVTFWD22 city / 31 hwy / 26 combinedFWD

EPA city / highway / combined, from fueleconomy.gov.

NHTSA public records

Complaints and recalls

945complaints filed
10recall campaigns

Where the complaints land · top 6

EXTERIOR LIGHTING261
POWER TRAIN157
AIR BAGS156
UNKNOWN OR OTHER56
SUSPENSION48
STEERING48
All other categories219

A complaint count is not a failure rate. It tracks how many of these were sold and how much attention a problem drew, so a popular car will always show more complaints than a rare one. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, retrieved 2026-08-13.

Documented mechanisms

Known problems

Wear item

Charging system: battery and alternator

The alternator charges the battery while the engine runs and powers everything electrical. Both are consumable parts with a service life, and on a used car at least one of them has usually been replaced already — or is due.

Slow cranking, a battery light that comes on under load, headlights that dim at idle and brighten when revved, or electronics that behave oddly before anything else fails.Electrical →
Moderate repair

Air conditioning compressor failure

The compressor is the pump in the air conditioning loop. When it seizes it can send metal debris through the whole system, which turns a component replacement into a system job.

Air that is not cold, a clutch that cycles rapidly or not at all, a rattle or squeal that appears only with the A/C switched on.Climate →
Wear item

Suspension and steering noise

Bushings, ball joints, link rods and strut mounts are rubber and grease components that wear continuously. They rarely fail suddenly; they get gradually noisier and vaguer, which is why a test drive on a rough road tells you more than one on smooth pavement.

Clunks over bumps, a knock when turning the wheel at low speed, uneven tyre wear, or a car that wanders and needs constant small corrections.Suspension →
Major repair

CVT judder, slip and failure

A continuously variable transmission transmits torque through a steel belt or chain running between two variable-diameter pulleys. It depends on a specific fluid and on the clamping pressure between belt and pulley, which makes fluid condition central to its condition.

Shuddering when pulling away or under light throttle, engine speed rising without matching acceleration, a whine that changes with road speed, or a delay before the car moves.Transmission →
Warranty extension

Nissan's CVT warranty extensions — which car, which years

Nissan has extended the CVT warranty on a long list of cars from 5 years/60,000 miles to 7 years/84,000 miles, in three separate rounds tied to three separate class actions. The lists do not line up with the generations, and a year that looks covered often is not. This file exists to get the years right, because the difference is a transmission.

Nissan's bulletins describe none. That is worth saying plainly rather than filling the gap: the documents set out who is covered and for how long, and refer only to "customer concerns including those expressed by customers in the class actions". They name no judder, no shudder, no failure mode. For how a CVT fails in general, see the CVT file — but nothing in that general description is a claim about your car, and Nissan has not made one.Transmission →

What it is good at

Strengths

01V6 available on a mainstream sedan
02CVT warranty extension on record
03Very wide parts supply

Running it

Ownership and maintenance

Drivetrain

FWD

Front-wheel drive with both engines. The California PZEV version of the 2.5-litre is rated at lower output than the federal one, and the badge does not distinguish them.

Parts

Common — parts and independent shops are easy to find

Both engines were used across several Nissan models for years, so parts are stocked widely and independent shops know them. CVT work is the exception, and is usually sent to a dealer or a transmission specialist.

Transmission note

Xtronic CVT

Every 2015 Altima has the Xtronic CVT, whichever engine it carries. Nissan extended the CVT warranty on 2013-2016 Altimas from 60 months and 60,000 miles to 84 months and 84,000 miles in a bulletin dated 30 October 2019; the 2017-2018 cars are covered by a separate, later bulletin. NHTSA holds no recall for the Altima CVT.

Service intervals

Engine oil and filterPer the manufacturer's stated interval
CVT fluidPer the manufacturer's stated intervalXtronic uses a specified fluid, and its condition is central to how the transmission ages.
Spark plugsPer the manufacturer's stated interval
Engine and cabin air filtersPer the manufacturer's stated interval, shorter in dusty use
Brake fluidPer the manufacturer's stated interval

Cost items

Relative bands only. What a job costs depends on your region, the shop and where the parts come from, so a dollar figure written here would be wrong for most readers — and a wrong number costs more trust than a missing one.

HighCVT replacementThe largest single item on either engine. The warranty extension covers a defined period and mileage.
MediumCVT fluid service
MediumHeadlight assembly replacementExterior lighting is the largest complaint category on this model year; an assembly is a bigger job than a bulb.
MediumAir conditioning compressor
LowBrake and suspension wear items